The Hopeful Hunter
by Joashyh
Summary: This is the first installment of my series following Jaskior, a Redguard hunter.


When I finally reached Whiterun, I hung around for a while then went to the place everyone called Jarrvaskr. I was curious of the almost barbaric looking warriors and a very attractive redhead I had seen going in and out for the past few hours. I went inside and immediately two wild looking Nord men ran at me, greatswords drawn. One was slightly bigger than the other.

"What is your purpose, Stranger!?" the bigger one demanded

"I am just curious, I mean no harm" I said as I raised my hands

"Then welcome to Jarrvaskr, Friend" said the smaller Nord

"Farkas, what the hell do you think you're doing!? Kodlak would lose it if he heard about this!" Exclaimed the larger one

"Relax Vilkas, brother. I know what I am doing. So stranger," said the one named Farkas, turning towards me.

"Would you be interested in joining the Companions?"

"Well first off, what are the Companions?"I asked curiously

"Many years ago, a Nord named Ysgramor led 500 of his warriors to Skyrim. They were the first Nords to populate the realm of Skyrim." He said as he led me over to a cabinet. There wasn't much inside, just what looked like fragments of a blade and a bit of handle.

"This is Wuuthrad. The very axe wielded by Ysgramor himself against the damn elves that populated this place. Come, you must meet the others!"

He introduced me to the other Companions but when he introduced me to the redhead named Aela, I think my heart skipped a beat. She walked around me, sizing me up almost. She took my arm and led me to the training area. She tossed a bow and an arrow over to me.

"Ever used a bow before?" she said in a voice like soft velvety tones

"A little" I replied

She had notched an arrow into her bow and took aim. She let it fly and it hit home straight into the centre ring of the target. I hesitated as she said

"Come on; let's see what you've got"

I felt the weight of the bow in my hands and notched the arrow onto the string. I took a deep breath, raised the bow and pulled the string back up to my ear. What I hadn't told them was that I was the best hunter in my homeland for they had no idea what my name was. I am Jaskior, Master Redguard Hunter. I inhaled deeply, as if I was one with the bow and arrow in my hands, slowly blinked, aimed and let my arrow go. I felt the feathers brush past my face and the breeze on my cheek. The arrow flew at the target, and split Aela's arrow straight down the middle. The wood splintered into pieces as my arrow entered the shaft. The 3 tail feathers floated to the ground slowly as the Companions watched me, speechless, mouths gaping.

It was Aela who broke the silence.

"Wh-who are you?" she stammered

"My name is Jaskior, Master Redguard Hunter, and I pledge myself to the service of the companions with the request that Aela be my Shield Sister?"I said

"In that case, welcome to the Companions, Jaskior" came a deep voice from behind me.

I whirled round to see a white haired man with a long straggly beard. This was Kodlak Whitemane, leader of the Companions. I felt awed as I knelt before him as the rest of the Companions formed a circle around me. They began to chant in Ancient Nord tongues. When the ceremony was over, Aela whispered in my ear,

"Meet us here at sunset, all will be revealed"

I nodded as she gave me a discreet wink. I spent the rest of the day at my house, Breezehome I had purchased earlier that day from Dragonsreach when I was made Thane of Whiterun. I made the home more secure, changing the locks, making traps and concealing swords, arrows and daggers in case of a break in.

When sunset came, I slipped my 3 enchanted Orcish daggers into my belt and headed out to the training area of Jarrvaskr. Aela, Farkas, Vilkas and a big burly Nord named Skjor were waiting there. Without any words, they walked over to a stone wall and Skjor pushed the wall. To my amazement, there was a concealed door which led into a dimly lit crypt with a font in the centre.

I watched speechlessly as Aela removed her armour, and began to change. When I say change, I mean change species. I closed my eyes and when I next looked there was a Werewolf standing where Aela was a few seconds ago. They said to me;

"Jaskior, do you accept the gift of the Beast Blood? It the greatest honour to be bestowed up on a member of the Companions"

"I do" I said, gaping at Aela in wolf form.

Wolf Aela raised her arm and Skjor made a small cut with a dagger. Blood gushed into the font and I stepped forward. Somehow, I knew what I had to do almost as if this was my destiny. I leaned forward, and began to drink the blood. I stood back with blood dripping from my mouth. I felt a new power within, a deep growl escaped my throat and I felt my arms and legs growing, fur covering my whole body. I let out a roar that shook the whole cavern. Maybe even the Jarl heard it. I waited there with Aela until we changed back into our human forms.

When we came out of the Undeforge as it was called, I asked her if she would like to come out hunting with me. She said she would like that. I smiled. She grasped my hand and startled me. We walked around the city that night, talking. Telling each other about our lives. That was the best night of my life. We ended up sitting at the skyforge, just looking out across the plains at the mountains. We stayed there, sitting in the warm glow of the coals until the sun came up. When I finally had to go, we just stared, into each other's eyes. We slowly moved towards each other until our lips met. It gave me a sense of completion that I had never felt before. When we stopped, Aela just stared into my eyes, blushing.

We came down from the Skyforge and entered Jarrvaskr to everyone looking depressed. I asked Farkas what had happened. When he told me, my heart felt like it was sinking into a bottomless pit.

Skjor was dead.


End file.
